Which of the following best describes why Piaget used the term "sensorimotor period" for infancy?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: Which of the following best describes why Piaget used the term "sensorimotor period" for infancy?

Option 1: 'Piaget wanted to emphasize the significance of motor development as the cornerstone of cognitive growth during infancy.' While motor actions are central to sensorimotor learning, this option overstates motor development as the sole cornerstone and frames it as a sole emphasis, which isn't the most precise description Piaget used.

Option 2: 'Infants primary rely on sensory experiences for infants to explore and comprehend their surroundings.' This is partly true because sensory experiences are fundamental, but the wording is awkward (rely on sensory experiences) and does not explicitly address the action-based aspect that characterizes sensorimotor learning.

Option 3: 'According to Piaget, the fundamental building block of thought in infancy is the "scheme," thus leading him to term this developmental stage as the sensorimotor period.' This connects the concept of schemes to the stage, which is relevant to Piaget’s theory, but it explains a mechanism (schemes) rather than the practical description of the infant’s mode of interaction—sensory exploration and action-based learning—which is how the term is most commonly justified.

Option 4: 'During this period infants predominantly engage in sensory exploration and action-based learning.' This option captures the core idea behind the sensorimotor stage: infants learn about the world through direct sensorimotor interactions—seeing, grasping, moving, experimenting—before more abstract thinking emerges.

Why the incorrect options miss the mark:
- Option 1 misframes the emphasis, focusing narrowly on motor development as the sole backbone and not explicitly tying the term to the combination of sensory and motor experiences that define sensorimotor learning.
- Option 2, while highlighting sensory experiences, does not foreground the essential action-based interactions that are integral to this stage, which is a key aspect Piaget highlighted.
- Option 3 correctly points to schemes as a concept in Piaget’s theory but attributes the naming primarily to schemes rather than to the experiential mode of learning (sensorimotor exploration), making it a less direct justification for the term.

Putting it together: The sensorimotor period is named to reflect how infants learn by actively exploring with their senses and their movements, forming knowledge through interactions with their environment, rather than through passive observation or abstract reasoning.

In summary, Option 4 describes the defining characteristic of the sensorimotor period most directly and comprehensively, making it the best description among the choices.

Which of the following best describes why Piaget used the term "sensorimotor period" for infancy?

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